For anyone who has donned the scarlet and cream, stepping out to perform for Husker fans carries an enormous feeling of pride and responsibility.
For Kate McNamara, whose mother was on the first-ever Scarlets team nearly 30 years ago, she is honoring her family legacy as well as Husker Nation every time she steps out in uniform.
"I always have my mom in the back of my mind when I’m performing,” said McNamara, a sophomore nutrition, exercise and health sciences major. “It’s helped me understand that it’s about so much more than just me and what I’m doing — it’s about all the people that came before me and all the women that were able to make this team grow into something so important to the university."
A lifelong dancer growing up in Grand Island, Nebraska, McNamara always felt a pull toward following in her mother Michelle McNamara's footsteps and taking a shot at joining the Scarlets. It was not until she made the team, however, that she began to understand just how meaningful the Scarlets were to the wider Husker community.
"When I found out I made the team, there was this huge wave of emotions. Within minutes my parents showed up to my work with flowers,” she said. “People I didn’t even know from my hometown were messaging me — it was definitely an overwhelming experience.”
Now in her second year on the team, McNamara still gets a jolt of pride when she spots her mother watching proudly from the stands.
"Even during the last football game, I looked up to the stands and saw my mom doing the fight song along with me,” she said. “It’s a special thing that very few people get to experience.”
Pulling from the advice and wisdom she’s received from her mother, McNamara is making sure not to take anything about this uniquely special experience — and responsibility — for granted.
“We’re ambassadors for the university, and it’s our job to spread that Husker spirit and increase the atmosphere,” she said. "One of my mom’s favorite phrases is, ‘Work hard, have fun.’ It’s simple, but it reminds me to give 110 percent each time and enjoy the moment, because I know it’ll be gone in a blink of an eye."
